Seriously...

I have been such a blog slacker! The last few months have just seemed to be wild and crazy, and maybe I can blame a little bit of it on being pregnant and chasing after two little ones. But regardless, here is an update of the last couple months...We had a great Halloween, Caleb was a dragon and Natalie was a flower. This was the first year Caleb was really into going up to the door and saying "Trick or Treat!". We still have most of his candy bucket left, he isn't much of a candy guy. Thanksgiving was wonderful, we had all of the close relatives over to our house, I think it totalled 13 people. Jason and I tag teamed a 24lb turkey on the Traeger and it turned out amazing!! We had NO turkey leftovers. Natalie started walking at the beginning of December, she seemed to catch on really quick and is able to really move fast now. On December 8, Caleb turned 3! We had a combined family party for him and Jason's dad, whose birthday is a couple of days later.


As for the new baby, we are 3 weeks away from the due date of January 6, and she was breech until the day we went in to vert her (externally rotate her to head down!). I think she may have even turned as I sat and waited for the doctor to come in at the hospital...lots of prayer helped with that one! She is a very active child inside, we'll see how that translates into her personality later. And as is the story with all of my pregnancies, my doctor decided to go on vacation (out of the country!) right as I am coming up on my due date. At least this time she will be back before my due date, as long as baby holds out for her until after the 29th.


Well, we are all excited for Christmas and I pray you are too! Let us thank the Lord this season for the most amazing gift of his Son who has given us all life! I am really enjoying teaching Caleb about the Christmas story this year. I would encourage you to look at the "What God Wants for Christmas" nativity set to do with your children if you want a neat way to celebrate the true reason for the season. It is a seven day interactive set (or you could go through the whole thing on Christmas morning) that that tells the Christmas story in a way kids of all ages can understand.

And for some pictures...

Natalie twirling in her Christmas dress.

My handsome man is 3!!

The first steps...

Superman, Birthday and other such...

I am loving these beautiful fall days, we could not have ordered better weather! My belly continues to grow, and we are down to the three month mark! I am getting more excited to hold this little girl kicking around inside.
Natalie turned 1 on October 2, it is such a joy to watch her grow each day! She now says, "dada", "this", "yes". and the occasional "papa". But I am still waiting for "mama"... She has ventured to take a couple steps at a time away from the table and into my arms (or grandma's) but hasn't gotten up the confidence to keep going. She loves to eat most everything, although doesn't seem to like olives or plain cheese.
Caleb is really seeming to be more of a big boy every day! About three weeks ago he decided he was ready to be potty trained and it only took one day with just two accidents. For the most part, he does very well all day long, even during nap, and only needs a diaper at night. It has been so nice to have just one in diapers, even if for just a few months. :) He has started to ask the "why" question and often asks "what this?". I am amazed by what he is able to remember and all of the sentences he puts together. Right now we are working on saying "I" in place of "me". He has really started to form opinions and assert his preferences too. One day he told Jason and me that he does not want another sister and said "sister go bye-bye, have a brother." Fits are also a regular occurance these days if we tell him "no". I have a feeling that three may be a little more challenging than two because of this!

Here is a picture of Nattie on her birthday, she has been cutting her molars and I think they were really bothering her the night of her party. She cried all the way through everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

She was a little happier when we put a cupcake in front of her!

Caleb got some new shades from a trip to get his flu shot at the doctor's office, and his second cousin, Alex, gave him a sweet superman cape. He wore both around for two days strait! Here he is enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon in the backyard.

Photography Fun

So I am excited that I have another wedding booked for December. What a photography adventure I am on...I am having a blast! I was able to participate in a wonderful group with other local photographers this week, and we had the opportunity to photograph some beautiful models in wedding dresses for practice. We started after dark and walked the streets of downtown Portland looking for interesting backdrops. It sure gave me some great ideas and a longer wish list for equipment. Here are a few of the fun shots I got!

Car Wash

Caleb enjoyed helping daddy wash his car today..what a cutie!

Cornbread

I have been loving this cool weather! I am such a fall and winter girl, I am ready for it to be here now!!! Well, the cool weather inspired me to make chili. I embarked on the journey of making my own chili powder, but it turned out much too spicy (too many arbol chiles!) so I will have to wait until I prefect the recipe to post it. But I was able to figure out some good cornbread. Jason asked me to find or create a cornbread that was not dry. So I did some searching on the internet and found a basic recipe that had some good reviews for being moist. I thought for a bit about how to make sure it remained moist, and read a review about someone adding fresh corn to the batter. I decided instead of fresh corn, to add half a can of creamed corn. It is nice and sweet and would add a bit more moisture along with the kernals of corn. Yum! It worked beautifully and I have found that it almost doesn't need the butter and honey, it is so moist and sweet. So here is the recipe. Give it a try if you like, I think it is definately better than the boxed mix! By the way, if you don't have buttermilk on hand, substitute 1 cup milk (skim works best, but whatever you have on hand is fine) mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice (mix them together and let it sit for 10 minuted or so before using). If it turns out sweeter than you like, you can cut the amount of sugar in half.

Moist Buttermilk Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 can creamed corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8 inch square pan (or double the recipe and use a 9x11 pan).

Place butter in a large skillet and melt over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in skillet. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Gently mix in creamed corn just until incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool a few minutes before cutting.

Top with butter and honey if desired, say blessing and enjoy!!

Backyard fun!

I realized this week that my blog is covered with mostly pictures of Caleb. I think that's because I don't have to chase after him constantly and can actually sit back and take his picture, while Nattie is always on the move and won't sit still long enough for me to run away from her and snap a picture! Well, the kids have really been enjoying the summer weather and playing in the backyard. We went outside tonight just before sunset and I managed to get a few good shots of Nattie...I just love my little cutie!

Cooking Substitutions

It's been a while since I posted anything about my recent cooking adventures. Here is some information you may find useful. As I was preparing to make one of my favorite recipes for chicken enchiladas, I found that one of the key ingredients for the filling, sour cream, was not in my fridge! What am I do? Should I pack up my two young children and run to the store for just one ingredient? Should I just forget making the enchiladas and find something different? For years I would always do one of those two things...but it sure is a pain to go to the store for just one thing, or to try and find a new recipe where I have everything I need. I would go through recipe after recipe, deciding I didn't have this or that so it wouldn't work! Well I have discovered an easier way! Substitutions! This can be an intimidating thing for some people, but it definately gets easier with a little practice and a few general rules to follow.

First, ask yourself whether the item missing is one that is crucial to the outcome of your recipe. When you are baking, is the item an egg, baking powder, flour or something else that has to do with the chemical reactions that cause the item to turn out? Or if you are cooking, is it a key ingredient that will make or break the dish, such as my sour cream, which makes up a significant portion of the recipe? If the answer is yes to this question, it is important to really think through what you will do to find a replacement. For baking (or cooking really), there are many websites which list common substitutions. The best one I have found is http://www.foodsubs.com/. This is an amazing website! You can find substitutions for everything from eggs to baking powder! It can definately save the day. For my enchiladas, I found some plain yogurt in my fridge. This has the same tang and similar consistancy to sour cream. Perfect! My family did not even realize anything was different with the enchiladas.

Now, if the item is not crucial to the recipe, such as one of the vegetables in the dish, or a particular spice, it can be easy to just leave it out, or to find something else that will taste just as good! For example, if the recipe for calls for garlic and you don't have any fresh on hand, add a little bit of garlic powder (just keep in mind powdered and dried spices and herbs are a lot more potent than fresh, so add just a little and taste before adding more!). Or, look at my couscous salad recipe in the sidebar, it calls for many veggies. If you don't have kidney beans, for instance, add chickpeas instead (the original recipe actually called for chickpeas, but I like the sweetness of kidney beans better). Or just leave them out! You could even leave out the chicken to make it vegitarian. Things like this are very flexible and may make the dish taste a little different, but will not ruin it. You may even find that you like it better with your new substitution!

And the Cake is Cut...

So we had the party and the results are in...

This is the cake made by our wonderful "grandma Pat". It is so cute!!

And we are having...

A GIRL!!!!!!!!!

Baby Day and Photoshop Fun

Life has been pretty busy the past couple of weeks! We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday, which marks the halfway point of this pregnancy. I can't believe time has gone so quickly, the baby will be here before we know it! The ultrasound was really fun, and we got a great 3D picture of the baby's face. I will post it tonight, but have to wait until after our gender party. Oh yeah, I should explain. We had the ultrasound tech find out the gender and take a picture yesterday, but he put it in a special frame and we didn't look at it. Instead, we took it to our wonderful cake lady who did the cake for our wedding and now does all our family cakes. She is making a cake that is either pink champagne (girl) or blueberry (boy) and frosting it generic. We get to pick it up tonight and all our family is coming over for a bar-b-q where we will cut the cake open and find out the gender together. After that, I will be able to post all of the pictures from the ultrasound CD! I can't wait to find out! When we ask Caleb, he always says that it is a boy, and that has been my suspision all along. We'll see!!

In other news, I was able to purchase some really neat photoshop programs this past week and have been enjoying developing my logo. Here are a couple more pictures from the wedding (of the bride's adorable nephew!) with an idea for my new watermark. Just thought you might like to see a couple more fun pictures. Let me know if you like the watermark logo.

Me... A Wedding Photographer?

I started a photography business a little over a year ago. My focus was to be infants and children and I began by begging all of my friends to allow me to take pictures of their kids! Little by little, I have built a portfolio and a decent website. Well this past week, I had a relative come to me and ask if I would be willing to consider doing pictures for her friend's wedding, LAST MINUTE! I had always said I would never photograph a wedding, as it is not something I can retake if I happen to mess up. But I felt that this was a situation that actually might make for a great first wedding...so I said yes! The wedding was on Sunday. I had about a week to prepare and was more nervous than I had ever been. I called my great friend a couple of days before the day and she offered to come along and assist me. I thought that was a wonderful idea! So together we went went on a journey as the "wedding photographers". The day started HOT, and the wedding was a little off schedule when we arrived. But I think that we pulled it off! Here are a couple shots I took, it's just a sneak peek, I will have more on my business website http://www.terrasphoto.com/, in a week or so, once I am able to show the pictures to the bride and groom. Stay tuned!

And we are exhausted, but had a blast!

Chicken Yakisoba

As promised, I am following up with my Chicken Yakisoba recipe. A quick note before we start. This recipe cost me under $15 and served hearty portions for 4 adults, one child, and I had two servings of leftovers! You could probably cut everything in half if you are only cooking for two, and it would be an even better value.

Ingredients you'll need:
1-2 pounds of chicken or lean pork, sliced against the grain
1 bottle of Teriyaki 30 minute marinade
4 carrots, sliced thin, length-wise like matchsticks
1 medium head of cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, chopped
16 ounces of chuka noodles (2 packages)
2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
3 scallions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of tonkatsu sauce (they sell it in the Asian section at Winco)

Place sliced chicken or pork in a gallon ziplock bag with 30 minute teriyaki marinade. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes. After meat is finished marinating, cook noodles in a pot of water. Bring to boil and let boil until they float (al dente, not fully soft, you don't want mushy noodles!). Drain and set aside with a little bit of oil mixed in so they don't stick together. Under medium heat, add oil to a large frying pan or to a wok. Add meat. Stir while frying until meat is cooked through. Drain off most of the liquid that is in the bottom of wok from marinade. Add onions, ginger, garlic, and carrots. Stir well while cooking and add salt and pepper to taste. Add Cabbage and cook until it just barely starts to wilt (don't let it get too done, it will cook more as it sits and is re-heated, overcooked cabbage will ruin your yakisoba!). Remove meat and veggies from the wok and set aside in a big bowl. Place noodles in the wok and add more oil and about 1/3 of tonkatsu sauce. Fry until noodles begin to brown. Mix the meat and veggie mixture back into the wok with noodles and add in remaining tonkatsu sauce. Make sure everything is coated with the sauce and let simmer just until warmed through, so as to not overcook the cabbage. Serve immediately, say blessing, and enjoy!

A New Inspiration

So I have recently been enjoying trying new recipes. I guess it's actually more about creating my own recipes by modifying ones I find online. Or just simply finding something that sounds good and trying to re-create it from scratch. It has come out of two years of staying home and watching food network. I started making recipes I would see on shows that sounded good. At first, I would follow the recipes to the letter, making sure everything was done exactly as recommended. But after a while, I began realizing that there are some easy ways to change recipes that may make them more appealing to me or my family! One of the first things I found was to use half of the oil in baking recipes (and even then use only a light olive oil) and replace the remaining half with applesauce. At least it makes baked goods that much more healthy! From there I expanded to changing spices (adding, deleting) and reducing the amount of sugar in baked goods. I then started playing with cooking (as opposed to baking) which is much more easy to modify. The reason for this is that in baked goods, you really can't change the amounts of flour, leavening agent, eggs, fats etc. or else the recipe just won't turn out in the oven! But when cooking something that doesn't require those specific combinations of ingredients to turn out, you can be a lot more creative. I think that part of my recent branching out in my cooking is owed in part to being pregnant and cravings! I find things that sound good, but can't find any equivalent in the store that satisfies the craving. So I decide to try and do my best to make it myself. The other day was the pico de gallo...tonight was Yakisoba! I have made stir fry for years, but it was never anything special and definately not what I was craving. So I decided to look online for some inspiration. I found a base recipe for Yakisoba and went from there, changing the sauce and the cooking technique just a bit to make it so the cabbage wasn't overcooked and the sauce was not runny...I will create another post soon with the entire recipe, but for tonight I think I have written enough! I say all of this to make a point. I have found a new inspiration for this blog. For those of you who love to cook, or who want to become better at cooking, I am going to post my adventures in cooking here! All of the regular family updates will still be included. But in addition, I will share my newest recipes, and maybe some of our tried and true favorites, and give tips that I am learning. Hope you want to join me as I learn and experiment along with me! Bon Appetit!

A New Recipe

With all of my pregnancies, no matter which foods turn my stomach, I can usually handle mexican food. Since this pregnancy is no exception, when we went to Baja Fresh the other day I became rather attached to their fresh pico de gallo from the salsa bar. The next day, as I was finishing the last bit that I had brought home in those little plastic containers, the idea came to me that it may be pretty easy to re-create this deliciousness! So yesterday I went to Winco and grabbed 3 pounds of roma tomatoes, 2 large onions, 1 bunch of cilantro and 2 anaheim chilis. When I got home I cut up all of the tomatoes into small chunks, stuck the onions and chilis in the food processor until they were diced pretty small, and chopped up about half of the cilantro. I just started adding...and tasting...adding. I used all of what I had chopped up and added a touch of salt. We had Jason's parent's over for dinner, and when they arrived I was just finishing the 2 quarts (8 cups) of pico de gallo. Jason's mom sarcastically said, "think you have enough pico?" Haha...by the end of the night we only had about 1 cup of the 8 left and had busted through an entire family sized bag of tortilla chips! No one could stop digging in! I thought afterwards that I should have taken some pictures, but the pico was consumed so quickly it just didn't happen! So anyway, I never knew pico could be so simple and taste so good!! This is definately something I will be making a lot this summer as my own romas ripen in my garden....yummm...

Family Time!

It has been a wonderful week! Jason had a week of vacation to use and we decided to just stay home and go to a few places we have wanted to see as a family within driving distance . So we went to the local art Fair, Jason's high school reunion, out to a friend's house in Eastern Oregon, to the beach, and to explore the Aviation and Space Museum. It has been a full week! The kids have really loved having their daddy around all the time. At the art fair, Natalie enjoyed people watching and Caleb made a picture frame and got his hand painted. It was a great start to vacation. In Eastern Oregon, we enjoyed spending time with our friends. Jason and his friend Tim were able to take the boys (Tim's son and Caleb) out for a Jeep ride to the top of a big mountain. The boys loved the open top Jeep! Tim and Jason also hiked early in the morning up to a beautiful lake. The kids and I stayed at the house and watched deer come up to the house feeder. Natalie especially loved the deer and would squeal with delight. The Aviation and Space Museum was fun, but a little bit more involved than Caleb was ready for. He liked looking at all of the planes, but really wanted to touch, so he had a hard time staying out of the roped off areas. They did have a little airplane ride that he really loved, and went on twice! I think my favorite adventure was definately the beach. We went to the Marine Science Center where Caleb was able to touch many sea creatures in their touch tank. I would definately recommend this place to families with younger children, as it has many tanks full of fish to watch and lots of things to touch. It is also only a $10 suggested donation per family and is not too long, so it is perfect for short attention spans! We then went and played on the beach, let Caleb fly a kite, and ate pizza at one of our favorite places.
Here are the pictures...

Art Fair

The Jeep Ride

Air & Space Museum

The Beach

The Night Time Battle

I don't know if anyone else has been through anything like this, but my 2 1/2 year old is suddenly having problems sleeping. Due to a major change in the family routine, Caleb started getting up in the middle of the night. The number of times he awakes has increased in the last few days to four times, or more. Here's how it went two nights ago...Caleb comes into my room or stands at his bedroom door crying, "mommy," until I come. The first time, I asked him to jump into bed and he wanted to do the entire night time routine all over again...singing, praying, tucking, the works. So after this was done, I said good night. A half hour later there he was again, over and over. I was trying to do the "supernanny" thing and just put him back into bed and leave. But it was obviously not working! I was getting to my wits end and it just seemed to just be getting worse each night and not better. I began to wonder if I should just let him crawl in bed with me and fall asleep. However, this is a habit neither I, nor my husband, want to foster. But I was almost at my limit! My pregnant body was begging for sleep!

So I went online to read about sleep on AskDrSears.com. Dr. Sears wrote a book called "The Baby Book" that is basically the bible for all issues baby, and I have come to trust his opinion on most matters. He has a wonderful article that really made me a lot more at ease about the whole issue. He explains that when a family has a major routine change, it will most likely cause toddlers and young children to experience sleep upset. Caleb just desperately wants to be near me in the middle of the night for security, but I need my sleep and so does he! The solution Dr. Sears poses is to set up a "special bed" on the floor in our room for when Caleb wakes in the middle of the night and needs to be near. Caleb can just come in and tuck himself into his "special bed" and be with me, without disturbing my sleep so much! It should meet both of our needs for sleep and his need for security. Well, I tried it last night, and I got my first full night of sleep in two weeks! Caleb came in at about 11:30, and once he was tucked in to his "blue bed" (a blue sleeping bag) he stayed asleep until morning! Amazing! I have learned that I must be willing to compromise on my opinion of what should be, in order to give Caleb the security apparently needs. :)

Blueberries

We went blueberry picking today! It was opening day for the blueberry farm, so there was only one other group of people there picking. I loved having my pick of the crop! I could tell it is just the start of the season and had to hunt a bit, but there were plenty of beautiful, large ripe berries. Caleb is old enough now to actually be of some help, or at least stay out of too much trouble! Last year he was not quite 2 and he just wanted to eat and dump out all of the berries I had picked. In fact, he actually dumped out the entire box of someone else's berries last year! But this year he knows his colors and can mostly refrain himself to just picking the blue ones. He actually filled his little container about halfway before he ate some and the rest spilled. Then he ran around and found sticks and other fun stuff while I finished filling my bowls. In all, we got 12lbs, which is about 8 quarts. Since we use them for muffins, pancakes, and smoothies all winter, I think I will go back and pick some more next week. Maybe on daddy's day off!

Pitas!

Ok. So I have been inspired lately to write. Maybe it is that my nausea is starting to get better, maybe it is just the nice sunny summer weather. Whatever the case, I must say that there is nothing quite like the smell of fresh baked bread in you home! For those of you who have made bread before, or for those who are just adventurous, I found a wonderful recipe for homemade pitas you must try. It is a little bit time consuming, but the smell in your home and the taste of hamemade pitas just can not compare to buying them from the store. I tried one fresh out of the oven and they are amazing! My first thought was how good they would be slathered with Nutella. Then I thought about all of the lunch sandwhich possibilities for Caleb - PB&J, Chicken Salad, Tuna, deli meat...it is nearly endless! And what toddler wouldn't love a sandwich that is a pocket? Caleb didn't want to eat his half, he wanted to put it on his pants like a "pocket". How fun! A little note for those who try this recipe...don't overcook them! I tried 4 minutes with the first batch, and the edges got just a little bit too crispy to where they wouldn't soften up and cracked. So I would start with only 3 minutes and then work your way up. Really, they don't need to get very brown at all. Mine just got mostly brown on the bottom where they sat on the rack. Other than that, this is pretty simple, but make sure you have a few hours to tend to all of the rising periods. Then enjoy!! Yum.

Garden

Since being married and a mother, I have found little bits of my own mother coming out in me. One of the ways it manifests is in my love of gardening. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of all of the gardens my mother tended at each of the houses where we lived. Some years it was mostly flowers, other years it included veggies. My mother seems to love growing flowers most, and no longer grows any veggies. But I love all of the plants that produce things I can eat with my mouth instead of my eyes! I also like knowing that the food I am serving to my family is something that is wholesome, organic, and much tastier than what you buy at the store. Someday I dream of having the space for a full in-ground garden complete with corn, pumpkins, and other larger plants. For now, I have some nice raised beds and try to make the most of one little strip of full sun in our backyard. Last year was my first attempt at veggies, and I was excited at the few zuchinnis, cucumbers, green peppers, and giant crop of cherry tomatoes I acheived. I learned some things about my yard and the placement of plants according to the sun. This year I changed a couple of plants around and things are looking really good. Let me take you on a partial tour...

First is my herb garden. I love using fresh herbs when I cook and they are so expensive to buy! The nice thing about herbs is they continue to grow throughout the winter and get bigger each year! I have so much thyme this year, I think I may end up freezing some or drying it to use this winter. I also have oregano, chives (delicious on baked potatoes!), sage, and rosemary.

Next are the tomatoes. My big tomatoes are just blooming, so there's not much to see there. These are my favorite and must have "Sungold" cherry tomatoes. They are so sweet and taste like candy! One plant produces buckets of tomatoes all throughout the summer. They are really good in salads or just eaten right off the vine.


These are romas, you can kinda tell by the shape. This is my first time doing romas, so we'll see how they turn out.

This is a zuchinni that will be ready in about a week. I make zuchinni bread and freeze it to eat all winter. Our family LOVES zuchinni bread. I planted only one zuchinni plant last year and got about 3 zuchinni off of it, but it was in an area that was too shady. This year I have four plants in a much sunnier location and each plant already has 2-3 zuchinni on it!

Here is the start of a cucumber. I also have four cucmber plants and each has several cucmbers growing. I love fresh cucmbers out of the garden for salad.

I am growing onions for the first time this year. Walla Wallas and scallions are the ones I am trying. They are looking like they are growing steadily, we'll see!

And last is the lettuce. I did many different kinds last year, but the only two that weren't bitter where Romaine and Green Leaf. So this year those are the two that I am growing.


I also have strawberries that are pretty much done, pole beans that are being eaten by something unknown (I have tried slug and snail bait but it must not be slugs or snails), and green peppers that are not yet fruiting. I will have more updates as the season continues!